Meatballs in Sour Cherry Sauce (Kabab Karaz)

Name: Meatballs in Sour Cherry Sauce (Kabab Karaz)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Cuisine: middle eastern
Ingredients: 1 pound/450 grams lean ground lamb, from the leg or shoulder; 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon Lebanese 7-spice mixture (see notes) or allspice; 1 tablespoon/15 grams unsalted butter; 2 1/4 pounds/1 kilogram fresh or frozen pitted sour cherries (see notes); 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar; 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses; 2 to 3 pita breads, each split into 2 disks and cut into medium triangles; 1 tablespoon/15 grams unsalted butter, melted; A few sprigs flat-leaf parsley, most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped; 1/4 cup/50 grams pine nuts, toasted in a hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden

Recipe from Anissa Helou

Adapted by The New York Times

Meatballs in Sour Cherry Sauce (Kabab Karaz) — Melina Hammer for The New York Times

Total Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(146)
Comments: Read comments

The writer Anissa Helou put this bright and tart Syrian dish on the cover of her cookbook "Feast: Food of the Islamic World," which gathers recipes from across the Muslim diaspora. "If there is a dish that symbolizes the cooking of Aleppo, this has to be it," she writes inside; the recipe is adapted from Maria Gaspard-Samra, a chef who taught cooking classes in Aleppo. These small lamb meatballs are browned — take care not to overcook them — and then simmered in a pool of pitted sour cherries, raw cane sugar and pomegranate molasses. Then they are piled on a bed of pita bread triangles drizzled with butter and dusted with chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts. If you can’t find fresh or frozen sour cherries, use dried, which you can rehydrate by soaking overnight in water. —The New York Times

Featured in: The Vast World of Islam, in 300 Recipes

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Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings

For the Meatballs

1pound/450 grams lean ground lamb, from the leg or shoulder
¾teaspoon fine sea salt
½teaspoon Lebanese 7-spice mixture (see notes) or allspice
1tablespoon/15 grams unsalted butter

For the Cherry Sauce

2¼pounds/1 kilogram fresh or frozen pitted sour cherries (see notes)
1tablespoon raw cane sugar
1tablespoon pomegranate molasses

For Assembly

2 to 3pita breads, each split into 2 disks and cut into medium triangles
1tablespoon/15 grams unsalted butter, melted
A few sprigs flat-leaf parsley, most of the bottom stems discarded, finely chopped
¼cup/50 grams pine nuts, toasted in a hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Make the meatballs: Mix the lamb, salt and spice mixture (or allspice) and shape into small balls, the size of large marbles. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the meatballs just until lightly browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Step 2
Put the cherries, sugar and pomegranate molasses in a pot large enough to eventually hold the meatballs and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and, stirring occasionally, simmer for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Add the meatballs and simmer for another 15 minutes, until tender.
Step 3
Assemble the dish: Arrange the pita bread triangles all over a serving platter, coarse side up, making sure the pointed ends are nicely arranged on the outside. Drizzle the melted butter all over the bread. Spoon the meat and sauce over the bread. Sprinkle the chopped parsley all over, then the toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Tips

To make the Lebanese 7-spice mixture, combine 1 tablespoon each of finely ground black pepper, ground allspice and ground cinnamon with 1 teaspoon each ground coriander, ground cloves, ground ginger and freshly grated nutmeg. This makes about ¼ cup/25 grams; transfer the remaining spice mixture to an airtight container and store away from both heat and light. Use leftover spice mixture in tomato sauce and marinades for grilled meat or chicken, or on tabbouleh.
If you can’t find fresh sour cherries, use dried sour cherries and rehydrate them by soaking them overnight in water: 2 cups/500 milliliters water for 14 ounces/400 grams pitted dried sour cherries. Add the soaking water along with the cherries when you make the sauce.

Ratings

4 out of 5

146 user ratings

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Comments

Becky7 years ago

Made this tonight with cherries from our back yard. It was fantastic. I needed more servings, so I doubled everything except the cherries. (Four and a half pounds seemed overwhelming.) The sauce would probably be great with any other ground meat, or even with roasted salmon. A keeper!

Becky7 years ago

Hi, Cyndy - My cherries are regular eating cherries, but not as sweet as Bing. I think you could use any cherries for this, and just adjust for tartness with some lemon juice. I also subbed brown sugar for the raw, and baked the meatballs rather than frying them.

Christina X4 years ago

Love this recipe! I used dried tart cherries and soaked them over night like the recipe suggested. The only thing I did differently was puree the sauce in my blender. This made a more cohesive sauce. The first time I made the recipe I didn't, and the sauce just never seemed to come together (which is why I wanted to puree). Maybe with fresh or canned cherries it's different?! The recipe is quite sweet, so you may want to up the salt a bit in the meatballs, or maybe a dash in the sauce as well.

Erin on Chicago6 days ago

This is a staple recipe in our house, so much so that I keep a small jar of this spice blend mixed and ready in my cupboard. I do make a couple of tweaks, though. The main one is that I use a meat blend that is half ground lamb and half really nice quality ground beef. The other thing is that I always end up using a lot more pomegranate juice and sugar in the sauce to balance the tartness of the specific batch of cherries. This recipe also freezes a well, so something you can have on hand.

PetraC1 week ago

I took half sour and half sweet cherries each, and it tasted great.

Caroline H.1 week ago

Your cousin thank you Anissa for this recipe I shall try it tomorrow. Cheers!

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